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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEo A. GREGORY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIA.

HAND-HAMMER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 22,073, dated November 16, 1858.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED GREGORY, of the city and county oflVashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a certain newand useful Improvement in Hand- Hammers or Their Handles, whichimprovement is also applicable to the shafts, handles, or helves ofother hand-tools having a hammer throw or action, such as hatchets,adzes, axes, or picks; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification, and inwhich my improvement is shown as applied to a handhammer proper.

Hand hammers are usually made light or heavy according to the purpose orwork for which they are more particularly designed. In many trades, aworkman requires, or eX- periences great inconvenience if not having,two, three, or more hammers of different heft, to suit varying workrequiring a heavy or light b-low and rapid or slow succession of blows.Thus, a hammer for driving tacks is too light for forcing home nails ofmedium size, and a hammer suited for working on such nails too heavy toapply with advantage to driving tacks and too light for operating onlarger nails or spikes. Also, while it is awkward to use a heavy hammerfor light work and difficult to eX- ercise the requisite nicety in itsuse thereto or on, it is laborious and wasteful of time to use a lighthammer for heavy work, and, the same not being adapted to give a heavyblow, it or its handle is very liable to breakage by such use. Thenecessity then of several hammers, as ordinarily constructed, ofdifferent heft, is apparent. Such necessity is very objectionable, notonly on account of the expense it puts the workman to, to providehimself with a set of hammers, but also on account of the inconvenienceof having so many of the same description of implement to crowd up hisstock of tools, which inconvenience is specially felt in doing jobbingwork at home and work at a distance requiring him to carry his toolsback and forth; besides which, there is the loss of time in searchingfor and the uncertainty of finding, just at the moment he requires it,the particular hammer he needs.

By my improvement, I make one hand hammer answer more advantageously thepurposes of several, and so do away, more or less, with the objectionsabove named, and produce a. hand hammer, proper, of more varied andgreater utility t-han is at present known to trade and which will befound of great practical gain, convenience and importance to thousands,if not tov all, both in the workshop and private domicile, using such acommon implement as a hand hammer. Thus, while using a length of handleor radius of action neither inconveniently small or great, I sensiblycontrol or vary the heft of the hammer so as to make it effectively dealeither a light, medium, or heavy blow, to suit different character ofwork as specied; by the employment of a reversible loaded handle, orreversible interior stick of a loaded character or auxiliary weight orcounterpoise adjustable on, in or along the handle, so arranged as toform no serious or objectionable projection from the handle inclining orfacilitating its tip laterally in using the hammer or obstructing thefree and steady use of said implement or, to any objectionable extent,clear sight along and run over the length of the handle; and saidanXiliary weight or weighted portion not-having its range of action oreffect necessarily restricted to the space intervening between the headof the hammer and back or hand holding end portion of the handle, butpreferably made capable of adjustment within or through and beyond thehand of the operator, and hammer head, or either, to establish itseffectiveness and practicability as a counterpoise to or regulator ofthe heft. And thus, it will be seen, my invention is of a differentnature and has a totally distinctive character and object to or from thearticle known in trade as a hammer wrench having an adjustable jaw on oralong (for a short distance) the shank of a stationary jaw, the functionproper of which adjustable and stationary jaws is merely to grip andturn screws and other articles, and, in the performance of whichfunction proper, the implement has not a hammer throw or action; alsowhich adjustable jaw, when the implement is casually, and from thenecessary character of its build disadvantageously used as a handhammer, has none of the elements requisite to make it act or be felt asan auxiliary weight, and not even in theory as a counterpoise, tosensibly control the heft so as to deal light, medium or heavy blows,and for such variation O1' effect said jaw never was designed, and

is practically useless for other than its legitimate function ofgripping and turning, for which its weight, size or configuration,position, and limited range of action suit it; but which jaw, in usingthe wrench as a hammer, is an objectionable lateral protrusion, makingthe implement awkward to use as a hand hammer and, instead of beingadvantageous, in such use of the instrument, it forms a positive eviland were better omitted.

To make yet clearer my invention, and the peculiar character thereof, Inow proceed to describe it, under various forms, in connection with theaccompanying drawing.

Referring to Fig. l, which is a partly sectional longitudinal view of ahand hammer, I show a hollovv handle (A) made of metal, bamboo, or othermaterial, among which may be mentioned many reeds of a tough characterand large bore indigenous to America. The one end of this hollow handlehas secured on it, in any suitable manner, the hammer head The otherend, for the length or distance grasped by the hand, may be covered withindia rubber cloth or other substance calculated to give a good hold, orit may be left bare and if necessary cut or roughened. Such tubularhandle may or may not be open at its ends to form a clear passagethrough it. In this figure (l), it is shown open at both ends. Withinthis handle is a stick, one part (a) of which is of a light structure ormaterial, and the other part (d1) of solid lead or other heavycharacter. This stick is made reversible and adjustable on, in or alongthe handle, and may be held, when adjusted, by one or more set screws(Z2), or in any other suitable manner. Said stick may either wholly fillthe tubular handle throughout its length and serve to strengthen it, orit may only partially till the handle.

Now, it will be obvious that, on the loaded portion (a) of the interiorstick being at or through the head end of the implement, as in Fig. lhere referred to, the heft of the hammer will be considerably in-J'creased and the implement made capable of dealing a heavy blow, but,on reversing the stick so as to bring its loaded end (cz) within forthrough the back or hand grasping end of the handle, the heft will bevery sensibly diminished or a counterpoise instead of an auxiliaryweight to the hammer head be produced, when working the implement fromthe wrist as a center of motion, and said weight or loaded end of thestick in such position serve to admit of a series of very light blowsor' taps being given by an ordinarily heavy hammer and serve to steadythe hand and action generally in giving such blows. Or the loaded end ofthe stick may be adjusted intermediate of the length of the handle, tofacilitate a series of medium blows being given; Ol the weighted stickmay be removed, at pleasure, and the implement be thereby reduced tooperate in its ordinary capacity or manner. Such a combination ofhandle, shaft or helve and auxiliary weight or counterpoise acting as anetlicient regulator of the heft to secure, to t-he implement, blowssensibly differing in effect or force, without involving anyobjectionable protrusion from the handle, necessarily admits of numerousmodifications distinctly and legitimately within the range of thepeculiar character of my invention, and in the accompanying drawing Ishow a few of such modilications or differences in construction. And inthisl connection I would specially remark that, the devices for holdingand releasing the auxiliary weight or counterpoise, or for adjusting it,may be of the most varied descrip* tion, including, as means, the screwand rack, wedge, spring or springs, thumb latch, and others, foroperation by the hand of the operator not grasping the implement, orwithin easy reach of and for operation by the hand which does grasp it.

Referring to the modifications depicted in the drawing: Fig. Q, showsessentially the same construction as that previously described,excepting that the handle (A) is here supposed to be made of wood hollowor bored for only a portion of its length, or made of a hard reed with aplug (c), iitted and glued in one of its ends, which may then be cut orshaped to fit on the hammer head (B) in the ordinary way. In suchconstruction, the after main portion of the handle serves for theadjustment or reversal of the interior. loaded stick (a 651,), theloaded portion (a2) of which may either be made to occupy the portion ofthe cavity in the handle nearest to the hammer head, to add to the heftof the latter, or it may be made to project within or through the backend of the handle (as shown), to take olf heft or establishl acounterpoise. Or the loaded stick may be wholly removed, at pleasure, tosecure a medium blow.

Surrounding the handle, I show a metal strap which serves as a boX forthe holding set screw (Z9) to work through, and likewise answers tobrace and strengthen the handle, especially where the screw pressure isapplied to hold the stick (a al). Fig. 3 illustrates a like action, buthere the weight (al) is assumed to be held by friction or by one or morespring buttons (b) pressing against the interior of the handle (A), andsaid weight adjustable toward the hammer head (B), or in, through ortoward the hand end of the handle, by compressing the spring buttons andmoving the weight (a2) by the ngers, through means of a slot (e) orslots made in the handle, and which slots may also serve to giveelasticity to and break jar o f the handle,

Fig. 4 shows the regulating weight (al) adjustable within the handle(A), toward or within the back end of the handle, or toward the hammerhead (B) by a revolving screw rod (b). Fig. 5 depicts the adjustableweight or loaded stick (a, al) arranged to swing, or turn over from aholding pivot (b) toward the hammer head (B), or vice versa, and which,when adjusted, may be locked by a cross pin passing through holes or f1)in the loaded vstick and handle. Such swinging loaded stick or weightmay either occupy a slot in the handle, or be external and occupy areduced portion of the handle (A), above or below, or (as here shown),on either side of the handle, so as not to form an objectionableprotrusion outside the handle, (say) as here indicated at the back endof the handle, which is shown in oblique section. The red lines, in thisfigure, show the loaded sticks in the act of being reversed. Fig. 6 alsoshows a reversible loaded stick (a al) arranged externally, butremovable for reversal in a straight line (as in Figs. l and 2), bysliding it, either end foremost, on a rod (A) that projects from thehammer head (B) g and securing the stick, when adjusted, by a set screwFig. 7 illustrates the reversible loaded stick (ay al) also serving as ahandle, but held in the hammer head (B) by one or more set screws (Z2),or otherwise held therein or to. Some of these arrangements formextension handles, to work a long or short hammer as required.

It will be obvious that my invention is not restricted to the precisecharacter of the blow given by the implement, which may be a driving,compressing, indenting or cutting one, and hammer heads are frequentlymade (as shown in the drawing) with their one end shaped to effect acut, or the tool, having a hammer throw or action, may be wholly of(say) hatchet, adze, aXe, or pick form. A pick for pressing mill stones,having its helve thus constructed, could be easier worked with therequisite accuracy to reduce coarse or iine inequalities of varyinghardness.

As a merchantable article or trade product, my invention may eitherassume the form of the implement complete, or of a mere handle, shaft orhelve, for after connection with the cutting or striking part of thetool, and some of the modiiications here shown are applicable to hammerheads now 1n use.

I claim as new and useful and my inven tion- The heft regulating hammershaft, or helve, substantially as specified, and operating to secure tothe implement, of which it forms the handle, an enlarged and variablecapacity to deal light or heavy blows as required essentially as hereinset forth.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

A. GREGORY. )Vitnesses JOSEPH L. SMITH, J. F. CALLAN.

